Vania



W. LARKIN.

FRENCH WELT KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 9. 1917.

l ,307,907. Patented June 24, 1919. I

3 SHEETSSHEET mn Larzwf 5 2116 W. LARKIN.

FRENCH WELT KNITTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 9. 1911 1 307,907.Patenflngl June 24, 1919.

3 SHEETS SHE'ET 2.

w. LARKIN. FRENCH WELT KNITTING MACHINE.

I 7 APPLICATION FILED NOV. 9, 1917. 1,307,907. Patented June 24, 1919.

I x 'J needles only UNITED STATES PATENT onnion.

.WALTER LARKIN, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR 'IO H. BRINTONCOMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, IE'ENNfiYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYL- VANIA.

FRENCH-WELT-KNITTING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 24 1919.

Application filed November 9, 1917. Serial No. 201,066.

To all whom it may concern:

I Be it known that I, WALTER LARK N, a citizen of the United States,residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have inventedFrench-VVelt-Knitting Machines, of which the following is a.specification.

My invention relates to circular knitting machine, especiallywhenrelatively fine material is to be knitted and light thread is to beused, whereby breaka e of such thread shall be prevented at the tlme themachine is automatically changing from lmitting the French Welt toknitting ribbed fabric ;the invention also contemplating a novelconstruction for carrying out the above noted method, whose arrangementof parts shall be such as to cause the thread guide forcertain of thecylinder needles to be operated at the proper times relatively to theraising cam, for the purpose of preventing the tightening and consequentbreakage of the thread heretofore occurring under certain conditions.

I attain as hereinafter set forth, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in

which,

Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a side eleting machine constructedaccording to my invention and equipped for carrying out. my improvedmethod of operation;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 3-3, Fig. 1, showing one ofthe thread guides and the parts associated therewith in the positionsoccupied when the yarn is being delivered to the cylinder and dialneedles;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section similar to Fig. 3, showing the threadguide and its associated parts in the positions occupied when thread isbeing delivered to the dial machines of thetypeemployed in making Frenchwelts, and has to do more particuviewsillustrating my method ofoperation.

In operating knitting machines to make French welts, it has hithertobeen custom ary, when the Walt Was to be made, to so adjust the raisingcam that the cylinder needles on one side of the machine were raisedonly to thetuck point, and therefore thrown out of action. Immediatelythereafter the thread guide adjacent said cylinder needleswascaused tomove outwardly so that the thread was delivered to the dial needlesonly. On the opposite side of the machine the cam controlling the dialneedles was so adjusted thatthese were brought to the welt point andwere thus also thrown out of action while the adjacent cylinder needlescontinned to knit.

The continued operation of the machine resulted in the formation of thesides of the welt and whenit was again desired to finish the welt andknit ribbed fabric, the raising cam was first elevated to bring thecylinder needles into action by elevating them to the knitting point andthereafter the thread These objects and other advantageous ends 1 guidewas swunginto a position in which thread was delivered to the cylinderneedles. Thedial needles on theopposite side of the action.

When however, it was attempted to employ this method in knitting goodssuch as fine hosiery usingvery light thread, it was almost invariablyfound that at the time the machine ceased knitting the French welt andbegan to-knit ribbed fabric, the yarn was so tightly drawn that it brokewhen the stitches were cast from the dial needles, owing to the factthat .the cylinder needles had previously machine were also caused toagain come into cast their stitches and locked the thread so for thepurpose of avoiding the above noted I objectionable action, 1 drop theraising cam and swing out the yarn guide as before,in

order to change from knitting ribbed fabric to the knitting of Frenchwelt, but when changing back to the knitting of ribbed fabric at. thecompletion of the welt, first swing in the yarn guide to the position111 which thread is delivered both to cyllnder and dial needles andthereafter lift the raising cam, with the result that the abovedescribed oreakage or injury to the thread or fabric is prevented.

In Figs. 1 to 8 of the above drawmgs, which illustrate a machineconstructed to carry out my invention, 1 represents a circular platemounted on any suitable framework and carrying standards 2 which supporta plate 3. This centrally suspends a spindle/1 which carries at itslower end a dial 5 with the associated needles, cams, etc. Rotatablymounted within the stationary plate 1 is a cam ring-6, from which a pairof standards 7 project upwardly for the support of a head 8 and this isprovided with'the necessary mechanism for preventing revolution of thedial spindle 1 and of the dial while permitting revolution of certainother parts, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.

Within the cam ring 6 is mounted the needle cylinder 10 with its needles11 and in the present instance said cylinder is shown as stationaryWhile the cam cylinder and its associated parts rotate. Obviouslyhowever the invention may be applied to machines of the rotary cylindertype without requiring material change. The needle raising cam 12 (Fig.8) is connected to a spindle 13, vertically guided in the body of thecam ring and normally acted on by a spring 141 so that it tendsto remainin or return to such a position that the needles are not raised abovethe tuck point. In the present instance the spindle 13 has its lower endextended laterally outward in the form of an arm 15. projecting beyondthe outer wall of the cam ring, in addition to which it also has afinger 16 projecting within the body of said ring. Said finger isdesigned to rest upon a shoulder 17 on an arm 18.

mounted on a vertical pivot 19 so as to swing toward and from the camcylinder,

and there is a spring 20 operative upon this 7 arm to normally press itoutwardly.

The projecting arm 15 has its under side beveled to permit of its beingraised by the action of an arm 32 on a rod 31 which is mountedin theplate 1 so that its arm strikes said arm 15as the cam ring is turned.When so raised the arm 18 is free to move outcam 12in their elevatedpositions. When however the arm 32' strikes the projecting portion ofthe arm 18 and forces it inwardly,

its shoulder 17 is thereby moved from under the finger 16, with theresult that the arm 15 with the spindle 13 are moved downwardly by thespring 1 1, bringing the cam 12 to its lowermost position.

The thread guide 22 is shown as mounted on a vertical spindle 23rotatably carried by the cam ring and having fixed to it projecting arms24 and 25. The latter of these is designed to beheld in an innerposition against the action of a coil spring 26, with the thread guide22 in position to deliver thread both to the cylinder and dial needles,by means of a hooked arm 27 mounted on a spindle 28 and normally pressedtoward said arm 25 by a spring 29.

When however, the projecting end of this arm 27 is engaged by the arm 32and moved away from the arm 25 against the action of the spring 29, saidarm 25 is re- 85 leased, thereby allowing the spindle 23 to turn andswing the thread guide 22 from the position shown in Fig. 3, to thatshown in Fig. 4:, where it is held by reason of the engagement of athird arm 30 on the spindle 23, with a part of the arm 27.

For moving the arm 24 to turn the spindle 23 in one direction I mount onthe plate 1 a vertically adjustable roller 21 so placed as to strike thearm 21, thereby so far rotating the spindle 23 as to cause its arm 25 tobe engaged and held by the arm 27 with the thread guide in position todeliver thread to the cylinder as well as to the dial needles.

With the above described arrangement of parts, if the thread guide 22 isin the position shown in Fig. 3, and the raising cam 12 is in that shownin Fig. 8, the machine will knit a ribbed fabric in the well understoodmanner. When it is required to form a French welt, the arm 32 isvertically adjusted, by mechanism forming no part of this invention, tosuch a position that as the cam ring is turned, it is struck by theprojecting portion of the arm 18 which is swung inwardly against theaction of the spring 20, and causes the shoulder 17 to be moved fromunder the finger 16. Under the action of the spring 14, the spindle 13is thus caused to drop and the cam 12 is moved to such position that thecylinder needles are raised only to the tuck point at which they do notcast ofi. their stitches.

As soon as all of the needles which have been left at the knitting pointby the dropping of the cam 12, have passed the yarn guide 22, and havebeen supplied with yarn thereby, the arm 32 strikes the projectingportion of the hook 27 and moves it inwardly a distance sufficient torelease the arm 25 which thereupon swings out under the action of thespring 26 on the spindle 23, and at the same time moves the thread guide22 to the position shown in Figs. 4; 130

and 9, in which the thread leads toward the cylinder at such an anglethat it is delivered to the dial needles 33 but not to the cylinderneedles 11. y j

Thereafter said dial needles continue to knit while the cylinder needlesadjacent thereto remain idle ;-it being understood that on the oppositeside of the machine the dial needles are thrown to the welt point bysuitable mechanism forming no part of the present invention, while theadjacent cylinder needles continue to knit. There are thus formed twoparallel lengths of plain knitted fabric constituting the body or sidesof a French welt, and when these have attained suitable dimensions,instead of the" cam 12 being moved to a position in whichthe cylinderneedles are raised to the knitting point, the roller 21 is raised bysuitable mechanism so that it engages and turns the arm 24 with thespindle 23, thereby swinging the thread guide 22 inwardly into theposition illustrated in Fig. 10, in which thread is caused to lead atsuch an angle that it is delivered to the cylinder as well as to thedial needles.

Since said cylinder needles are still at the tuck point, these looselyengage and draw down the thread as shown in Fig. 11, without casting offtheir stitches, and immediately thereafter the arm 32 engages and raisesthe projecting end of the arm 15, with the spindle 13, and moves the cam12 to a position such that the cylinder needles are raised to theknitting point. Since however the drawing down of the thread by saidcylinder needles has formed one or more loops and therefore provided acertain amount of slack therein, said thread is not locked as it wouldbe if the cylinder needles had begun to knit before the thread guide wasthrown in, but is free to be drawn through these needles to allow of thedial needles forming and casting off their stitches without subjectingit to objectionable tension. When therefore the cylinder needles dobegin to knit and lock the thread, the tension thereon by reason of thecontinued opera tion of the dial needles is not abnormal nor dangerous,so that the machine will form ribbed fabric without tending to break thethread or in any way injure said fabric.

I claim 1. The step in the operation of knitting a French welt whichconsists in drawing slack in the thread immediately before causing thecylinder needles to cooperate with the dial needles to knit a rib fabricafter the completion of the two walls of the welt.

2. The method which consistsin operating on two threads to knit a ribfabric; thereafter operating on the threads to knit two plain portionsconstituting the walls of a French welt; drawing slack in one of thethreads; and immediately thereafter operating on said thread to againknit a rib fabric. i i

3. The method which consists in operating on a plurality of threads bytwo sets of needles to knit a rib fabric; rendering the needles of oneset inoperative at each of the points at which the threads are knitted,to form two concentric bodies of plain fabric; drawing slackin one ofthe threads; and immediately thereafter causing both sets of needles tobecome operative on said thread to again knit rib fabric. 1

4. The method which consists in operat ingon a plurality of threadstoform a rib fabric; thereafter continuing operation on said threads toform two independent bodies of plain fabric; drawing at least one loopin one of the threads to slacken the same; and thereafter operating onsaid threads to again knit rib fabric.

5. The combination in a rib knitting machine for making French welts ofa needle raising cam; a thread guide delivering thread to the cylinderand dial needles; with mechanism arranged to successively move theraising cam to a position in which it brings the needles to the tuckpoint and then move the thread guide into a position in which itdelivers thread to the dial needles only, then after a predeterminedtime first operate on the thread guide to return it to a position inwhich it delivers thread to the cylinder and dial needles, and finallyelevate the raising cam to a position in which it brings the needles tothe knitting point.

6. The combination. in a rib knitting machine .of a raising cam for thecylinder needles; a thread guide mounted to deliver thread to thecylinder and dial needles when in one position andto the dial needlesalone when in another position; means for dropping the raising cam;means for moving the thread guide to a position in which it delivers tothe dial needles only; means for thereafter returning said thread guideto its normal position; and means for finally again lifting the raisingcam.

7. The combination in a rib knitting machine of a raising cam for thecylinder needles; a thread guide mounted to deliver thread to thecylinder and dial needles when in one position and to the dial needlesalone when in another position; means for dropping'the raising cam;means for rotating the thread guide away from the cylinder to a positionin which it delivers to the dial needles only; means for thereafterreturning said thread guide to its normal position; and means forfinally again lifting the raising cam.

8. The combination in a rib knitting machine of a raising cam for thecylinder needles; a thread guide mounted to deliver thread to thecylinder and dial needles when in one position and to the dial needlesalone when in another position; means for dropping the raising cam;means for moving the thread guide away from the cylinder to a positionin which it delivers to the dial needles only; means for thereafterreturning said thread guide to its normal position; and means forfinally again lifting the raising cam.

9. The combination in a rib knitting machine of a raising cam for thecylinder needles; a thread guide mounted to deliver thread to thecylinder and dial needles when in one position and to the dial needlesalone When in another position; a member mounted to cause, firstlowering of the cam, and second, a movement of the thread guide awayfrom the cylinder into a position in which it delivers thread to thedial needles only; means coacting with said member for causing thethread guide to return to a position in which it delivers thread both tothe cylinder and dial needles; and a second member mounted to thereaftercause movement of the cam to a position in which the needles controlledthereby are caused to knit.

In Witness whereof I affix my signature.

WALTER LARKIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

